On The Edge Of Forever
by SakuraWillow
Summary: Catherine is attacked and Gil is there to help her through it.


For Erica, Chell and Anne: The Creepers :)

Catherine Willows was tired. She just came off a double shift investigating a serial rapist. The guy would break into a woman's home, lay in wait until she came home, rape her, beat her to with an inch of her life and then call the police before leaving the house. All of the women so far had died from their injuries. He wore gloves, a condom, and she couldn't find a single hair that belonged to the rapist. It was beginning to look like the strip strangler all over again. She had been considering a copy cat, but that lead to a dead end. She needed to recharge her body and mind so she could once again try and get into this man's mind.

She walked up her stairs and into her bedroom, took off her shoes and jacket, then her shirt and pants. She reached behind her to unclasp her bra, that's when he grabbed her, shoving her against the wall. She hit her head against the drywall and it made her dizzy. A smear of blood marking the area where her head hit. He threw her onto the bed and ripped off what little clothing she had left and entered her roughly. Catherine barely had time to process what was going on. He raped her violently, hitting her and cutting off her air supply until he came. That's when he got up, walking over to the phone he called the police, and left.

Catherine lay there on her bed in a daze, moaning from her injuries. Slowly she got up and walked to her closet and pulled out a blanket, wrapping her bloody body into it. She sank to the floor in the corner, sobbing and shaking.

When Jim heard the call on the radio he jumped into his charger and raced to Catherine's. He was the first on scene, pulling out his gun he entered the house and cleared every room before finally entering the bedroom. Seeing Catherine bloody and broken, sobbing in the corner made his heart break. He walked over and tried to comfort her but she shrank away, pleading with him not to touch her. "Gil, I want Gil" she sobbed Jim nodded and stood up, pulling out his cell phone he dialed the familiar number of Gil Grissom.

Gil was startled out of sleep by his cell phone. He answered and listed to Jim calmly explain the situation. Gil on the other hand freaked out. He jumped out of bed and threw on his clothes, racing out the door to get to his best friend. He arrived at Catherine's house and ran inside up to her room. When he saw her he went to her and tried to wrap his arms around her, but she struggled out of his grasp.

"Cath? It's me, I'm not going to hurt you" he pled with her

"Gil, just…please…" she sobbed

He nodded and backed off. Sara and Sophia came in and Sara kneeled next to her. Without saying a word Catherine fell into her arms and sobbed. Sara was a bit startled by her actions, after all, they weren't the best of friends by any means, but she held Catherine close trying to comfort her. When she finally calmed, both Sara and Sophia helped her up and down to the ambulance, both going with her to give her a sense of security.

Gil looked around the room "I'm gonna get Nick and Warrick in here, I don't want day shift with in a hundred yards of this place."

Jim nodded and left the room, leaving Gil alone. He looked around the bedroom and was physically ill. He vowed to get the bastard who hurt his Catherine.

As Nick and Warrick processed Catherine's home, Gil went to the hospital. He sat in the waiting room worrying until Sophia came out.

Sophia looked at him sadly "He really did a number on her, they are taking her into surgery. I was able to take her statement though. Sara should be out in a few. She needs to go home and change, she has Catherine's blood all over her."

Gil nodded "I'll stay, I'm not gonna leave till I know she is ok."

Sophia nodded "You want some company?"

Gil shook his head "Go fill out your report and get some rest, I'll call you with updates"

Sophia nodded "She'll be ok, we will help her get through this." She said laying a hand on his arm

"I know, she is strong, it will just take some time and our love" he smiled "Go on, get some rest, I'll call you"

Sophia nodded and left him in the waiting room. Gil sat down just as Sara walked out. Sophia was right; she was covered in Catherine's blood. She looked dazed and in shock. He stood up and helped her sit

"God Sara, are you all right?"

She shook her head in a daze "he really…he really fucked her up" she said on the verge of tears

Gil sighed and put his head in his hands "This is all my fault…I should have never put her on that case…she was his type, blonde, blue eyed, gorgeous…I was an idiot"

"Gil, you were doing your job" Sara said

He looked at her "I wasn't doing a very good job"

Sara felt sorry for him, she rubbed his back and stood up "don't beat yourself up too much, Catherine needs you" she said softly and walked out, leaving him there.

Gil watched her as she left, he sat back and rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. He wanted to see Catherine, to know she was at least safe, for now.

He stood up and paced the waiting room, for two hours he was up and down waiting for word that Catherine was alright.

Finally a nurse came out of the ER and walked up to him. "Mr. Grissom?"

He looked at her "Yes, is she alright?" he asked eagerly

"She will be" she smiled "We were able to repair most of the damage, but she will have severe scaring on her face." He closed his eyes; he knew Catherine would be devastated.

"When can I see her?" he asked

"We are just finishing up the stitches, give us a half hour and I'll come get you. She will still be under anesthetic, but you will still be able to see her"

He nodded "Thank you"

Forty-five minutes later he was at Catherine's side, he gently took her hand and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry" he said breaking down into tears "I'm so sorry Catherine" he cried

He held her hand to his face and kissed it softly, he wanted to be close to her, needed to be close to her.

For hours he sat there, holding her hand and telling her things that he should have said a long time ago. Like how much he admired her for being such a wonderful mother and CSI, how proud of her he was and how much he loved her. Over and over he said "I love you" wanting not only to get it into her head, but his own as well.

Over the next few days he refused to leave her side. The second day they found her brain swelling, so the induced coma. All he wanted to do was hold her hand. He wouldn't eat, sleep or talk to anyone but Catherine.

The fourth day Sara came back and pried him away. She sent him home with Sophia and Nick to get cleaned up as she promised to stay with Catherine. Reluctantly he went home to shower and change. He couldn't eat and was back at the hospital two hours later where he found Catherine awake and talking to Sara.

Catherine looked at him standing in the doorway and bit her lip "Hi" she said softly. Gil could tell she was already uncomfortable with him even being there.

"Hey" he smiled "Can I come in?"

She shifted in her bed, pulling the sheets up to her chest and shrugged. Sara took her hand "You know he won't hurt you Cat, and I'll be right here"

Catherine nodded "Okay" she said softly

Gil came in and sat in a chair away from her on the opposite side of the room.

"Sara told me you have been here the whole time…that she had to pry you away" Catherine said breaking the silence

Gil nodded "I couldn't leave you alone…I-" Gil stopped himself before he finished his sentence.

"I know, you love me…I heard you" She said looking down

Gil was a bit startled "I-I didn't think you could"

She nodded "I did…" she sighed "Gil I-I don't know if…if I can…"

"I know Cath, I'm not going to force you into anything…but I can't help the way I feel" he said standing up and walking over to her. He very gently reached out and caressed her cheek. Catherine flinched slightly before nuzzling his hand. He smiled, knowing that that simple act took a lot for her. "I'll be here whenever you are ready. I'm not going anywhere"

Catherine nodded and smiled at him. He smiled back and left the room

Sara grinned at her "I always knew you two would end up together"

Catherine looked at her and laughed "I guess we can't help the way we feel."

A few weeks later Catherine was released, Sara wheeled her out to the front where Gil was waiting. He was leaning against his Denali holding a bouquet of red roses. The past few weeks had been a challenging but Catherine was making a lot of progress. She allowed him to hug her and kiss her on the cheek. She even was allowing him to hold her hand. She smiled at him "Hey there lover" she teased he laughed "Hey baby" he handed her the flowers and kissed her cheek "Ready to go home?"

She sighed "as long as it's your home, I can't go back to my place…"

Gil knelt down and took her hand. "Baby, we talked about this, I don't have enough room for both you and Lindsey. I'm gonna stay with you though, I promise I won't leave your side."

She closed her eyes and sighed "Okay"

Gil smiled "Can I pick you up?" he asked

She smiled and nodded. Gil swooped her into his arms and placed her into the front seat as she giggled. Gil closed the door and turned to Sara "Thanks, for everything"

She smiled "No problemo, I'll see you later, tell Cath if she needs anything to just call"

He smiled and nodded ad he got into the car "I will"

"You will what?" Catherine asked

"Tell you that if you need anything Sara is just a phone call away" he smiled "But you won't because I will be there keeping you safe and warm" he grinned "I love you" he said kissing her hand

She smiled but didn't respond, he didn't mind, he knew how she felt.

Pulling up to the house Catherine gripped his hand. He squeezed back and smiled at her "relax babe, I'm right here"

"But what if-what if he is in there? So far I'm the only one who survived…what if he-he comes ba-back for me?" she asked beginning to cry

Gil wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his chest "Cath, I won't let him hurt you" he said stroking her hair "I'll kill him if he even tries"

Catherine looked up at him, for a moment she just stared into his eyes. Then she did something he wasn't expecting. She kissed him, full on the lips. `He was shocked for a moment, but quickly began to kiss her back, sucking softly on her bottom lip.

Catherine pulled away and looked him deep into his eyes "I love you" she whispered

He smiled at her and kissed her softly once more "I love you too baby, you're so amazing, so strong."

"Because of you" she smiled "You have been my rock, I couldn't have done it without you"

He pressed his lips to her forehead "Come on honey, let's go inside. Lindsey is at Nancy's place so we can work though your fear together ok?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. He got out and came around helping her out of the car. She was still in pain so he held onto her as they walked. He paused at the front door.

"You ready babe?" she nodded and he opened the door.

He slowly walked her in and she smiled "Who cleaned?" she asked

"We all did, we didn't want you coming home to it" he said kissing her temple.

"Thank you" she grinned

"Wanna sit?" he asked and she shook her head "Bedroom, I want to get it over with" he nodded and helped her up the stairs. She paused at the door running her hand over the cool wood before taking the knob and opening the door. She removed Gil's hands from her and slowly went inside by herself. Gil had bought her a new bed and made sure every drop of blood was gone from the room. It smelled clean, with a hint of her favorite perfume in the air. She stood at the foot of the bed for a moment before sinking to the floor, sobbing.

He was at her side in an instant, pulling her out of the room but she pushed him away. "No, I need to do this"

He nodded and let her be. She got up and walked to the spot where he pushed her into the wall and ran her hand over the spot where her blood had once been. She then walked to the bed and laid on it. "Gil, come here" she said through her tears.

He came over and lay on the bed with her. She moved to lay her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

"This is our bed now" she said softly he smiled and hugged her close "are you inviting me to move in?" she nodded "I don't ever want you leaving" he kissed her hair "I'll never leave you baby"

She smiled and closed her eyes "Thank you Gil, for everything, I couldn't have done this without you"

"Yes you could have, your strong Cath, give yourself some credit"

She shook her head "he broke me, and you fixed me, and I will always love you" she smiled up at him, kissing him softly

He kissed her back and smiled "And I will always love you"

He stroked her hair for a few moments "Are you hungry?" he asked

She nodded "Ok, I'm going to go make something, will you be ok up here or do you want to come with me?"

"I think I'll be ok" she smiled, "But hurry back"

He laughed "You won't even know I'm gone" he said getting up and going down to the kitchen

She sighed as she stood up, she still wasn't fully comfortable in the room, but Gil was helping. She walked to her bathroom and looked in the mirror. He left cheek was permanently disfigured with scars. She didn't know how Gil could even look at her like this, let alone love her, but deep down she knew it didn't matter. He was blind to her imperfections, as she was to his.

She turned on the water and splashed her face. When she looked back in the mirror he was there, behind her. She didn't have time to scream. He stepped towards her and she heard a gunshot. Suddenly he slumped to the floor. She looked over and saw Gil holding his still smoking gun. He dropped it and was at her side in an instant. Picking her up and sitting her on the bed he kneeled in front of her.

"Did he touch you? Did he lay a hand on you at all?" he asked trying to check her over

She was shaking but needed to be close to him "No, no, you kept your promise, I'm fine" she said wrapping her arms around his neck.

He lifted her off the bed and carried her downstairs, setting her on the couch as he called Jim.

Three months later after the investigation, Gil was cleared of any wrong doing. Catherine had decided not to go back to work and although Gil missed her as his right and left hands, he loved their new found relationship even more.

Walking in the door after shift one morning he called out for her "Cath, baby? Where are you?"

"In the bedroom" she called from upstairs

He walked up the stairs and into their bedroom, where he found her laying in the bed in a piece of very revealing clothing.

"Catherine" he breathed

She smiled and beckoned him to come to her. He obeyed and climbed on the bed.

"I need you Gil, I can't wait any longer" she whispered beginning to undress him. He smiled and helped her, he was naked in a matter of moments, kissing her and caressing her body like she was a goddess. She was a goddess, to him.

He looked into her eyes as his hand found her center. He pushed the lacy fabric aside and gently began to rub her clit. She moaned and pressed her hips into his hand. He smiled at her reaction; he wanted to give her everything she wanted and then some.

"Tell me if I go too far, I don't want to hurt you" he whispered in her ear

"You can't hurt me" she whispered back kissing him

He smiled and began to undress her, kissing every inch of her skin that he exposed. Once he finished he sat back to admire her. "Beautiful" he said softly before attacking her lips again. He flipped them over so that she was on top; he was giving her full control. He didn't want her to feel threatened at anytime.

She smiled when she realized what he was doing. Bracing herself on his chest she slid onto his erection, gasping softly.

He wanted to grab her hips and bury himself deep inside of her, but he resisted. He let her set the pace, a slow and steady one, but one that gave them both the most pleasure. She moved her hips above him, grinding against him like only a dancer could as he caressed her with his fingertips. The closer she got to her sweet release the more frantic she became. She went faster and faster, finally exploding and clamping down on him.

He was right behind her, releasing his seed into her and claiming her as his own. "Mine" he whispered pulling her to his chest and kissing her deeply "All mine"

She smiled, nuzzling his chest "yes, I'm yours" she whispered

He wrapped his arms around her and began to stroke her hair. "You have made me so happy Cath, I want to spend the rest of my life with you"

She smiled "This is just the beginning Gil, I promise you the rest of our lives will be spent together, until our dying breaths"

He smiled and kissed her once more "I can't wait my love"


End file.
